Testimonies, Tips and Tidbits Spiritual Challenges Head Knowledge Without Heart Knowledge

by Robin Ulbredtch
06/23/17
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Head Knowledge Without Heart Knowledge

Another challenge we face as Christian workers is what I call “Head Knowledge Without Heart Knowledge.” Man cannot solve this huge challenge, but the Holy Spirit is continually working on it through a process called sanctification.

Head knowledge is knowledge we gain from education and/or experiences in life. It can be memorized facts, lessons learned at home or in school, living skills we’ve learned, religious customs and teachings, communication skills, etc. Head knowledge is useless unless we apply and use it in our daily lives.

Religious head knowledge is powerless without the Holy Spirit revealing and demonstrating the truth of it to our hearts and minds. In 1 Corinthians 2:14 KJV, the Bible tells us, “But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.” Man, in his natural ability and intellect, can do nothing to bring about God’s will; nor can he thwart God’s will or overall plan. But God allows each individual to choose whether they will receive or reject Jesus Christ and the work He accomplished on the cross at Calvary.

Heart knowledge is when the Holy Spirit takes the word of God and reveals the deep, penetrating truths within it to our inner being, bringing understanding of the word and a desire to change our lives. The Holy Spirit, in His time and place, will take past Bible lessons, memorized scripture or experiences and reveal the true meaning of it to our hearts. At times God uses the circumstances of our lives—good or bad—to bring revelation and teach us God’s truth. Only “heart knowledge” or divine intervention can transform lives in miraculous ways.

Perhaps this example from my personal life can help illustrate this point:  While growing up, I repeatedly heard the words “God loves me.” I could have found them in the Bible to prove this statement. I had “head knowledge” of God’s love for me, yet many “puzzles pieces” were missing from my understanding. Though the words were comforting, they seemed somewhat empty and hard to believe. “After all,” I thought to myself, “why would the God who created the universe take an interest in me?

One day, while I was going through a deep valley of testing, trials and tribulation, the Holy Spirit came and turned my head knowledge into heart knowledge. During the recent years prior to this day, all four of my grandparents passed away from various causes; I had just given birth to my first son and was trying to adjust to having a newborn in the house; and I was extremely depressed and exhausted because my first husband, who was an alcoholic, was heaping mental, physical and verbal abuse on me nearly every day. Manipulation and mental badgering (to get his way) was a game to him, and he gained self-esteem by winning this mental game.

I put up with the daily abuse because I could never win this game. My first husband was physically larger, more intelligent, and a quicker thinker. He won the mental game every time because he refused to give up the battle, even when he knew I was right and he was wrong. Yet part of me still loved my husband and wanted our marriage to work out so I prayed for several years that God would heal our marriage. I kept hoping for a miracle.

For nearly six years I suppressed the pain from abuse and other circumstances in my life. My body emotionally shut down; I was exhausted and numb; I spent my days and my energy focusing on the problems, trying to find hope for a better life, and worrying because my life looked bleak, hopeless and void of any chance for improvement in the future. All I could see was my husband drinking more, the abuse becoming more frequent, and he cared more about the alcohol than he did his family.

One morning, after a night of verbal abuse, I believed Satan’s lie. “You are worthless,” the words of my drunk husband kept running through my mind like a phonograph record that skips, playing the same few lines over and over again. “You never do anything…You don’t contribute anything…Nobody loves you…You’re the spoiled boss’ daughter…You are worthless…” and the message would start all over again.

“Maybe you’re right,” I thought to myself, as my husband’s words kept bombarding my mind. I reasoned that since my life was worthless and hopeless, and I wasn’t contributing anything of value, I might as well end it all and get away from the abuse and the pain. I believed I had no reason to live, no purpose, and no hope for a better future. So I reached into our silverware drawer, pulled out a sharp steak knife, and sat down on the floor of our mobile home with my back against the kitchen wall. My heart pounded loudly and I cried hysterically as I held the knife to my wrist and applied pressure to cut myself. I wanted to permanently end my suffering.

At the exact moment I applied pressure to the knife to cut my wrist, my newborn son cried loudly from within his bedroom. His cry pierced through my hysterical state of mind and I froze. Thoughts about my son’s future instantly flooded my mind. “What will he think? Will he blame himself for what I did? Who will take care of him?”

Suddenly I realized I had to live for my son’s sake, if for no other reason. So I went to his room, picked him up, and went to sit on the sofa in our living room. Then I realized I needed help dealing with my life’s circumstances but I didn’t know where to find the help I needed.

Proverbs 15:3 KJV says, “The eyes of the Lord are in every place, beholding the evil and the good.” The Lord was watching over me that day, and He had a different plan for my life.

As I sat on the sofa holding my six-week old son, the Holy Spirit brought remembrance of my past Sunday school lessons. I remembered hearing the words “Jesus loves me” and learning about the miracles Jesus did when He walked on the earth. Then revelation came: Jesus or one of His angels woke my baby up at the exact moment I tried to end my life.

“Jesus must truly love me,” I thought to myself. “Even though I’m an emotional wreck, Jesus must truly love me.” What other explanation could there be? I was home alone with the baby, and no one (including me) knew what I was going to do except God.

At that moment I knew, in my heart, it was God who kept me from destroying my life. This revelation and assurance of God’s love brought tears to my eyes and I cried. But these were tears of joy. Now I knew--in my heart and in my head--Jesus was real and He really loved me. He loved me so much that He divinely interceded in my life and stopped me from making a dreadful mistake.

Because I had heard the Gospel, the Holy Spirit brought revelation of God’s love for me, personally, into my life. Now I know God loves me, and His love has drawn me close to Him. I’ve become of born again, blood-bought child of God. Jesus has transformed my life, making me a new creation in Christ and He has filled my life with love and joy. Now I have a personal one-on-one relationship with Jesus and He is with me (in my heart) wherever I go. He promises to never leave me or forsake me and I believe Him because I know He loves me.

Having a personal relationship with Jesus Christ doesn’t mean my problems are taken away. Instead, we work through the problems together. He leads me, and I follow and try my best to obey Him. He gives me joy (His strength) to continue as we walk together and work through the problems. At times, I give the problems to Him through prayer, and He helps work them out because they are impossible for me. When I give Him the mountains, He works them out while I pray and stand back and watch the deliverance of the Lord.

“What shall I say? he hath both spoken unto me, and himself hath done it: I shall go softly all my years in the bitterness of my soul.  O Lord, by these things men live, and in all these things is the life of my spirit: so wilt thou recover me, and make me to live. Behold, for peace I had great bitterness: but thou hast in love to my soul delivered it from the pit of corruption: for thou hast cast all my sins behind thy back. For the grave cannot praise thee, death cannot celebrate thee: they that go down into the pit cannot hope for thy truth. The living, the living, he shall praise thee, as I do this day: the father to the children shall make known thy truth.” (Isaiah 38:15-19 KJV)

The suffering and anguish I went through was indeed for my benefit because, in the midst of it, I found Jesus Christ and became a child of God. Now God uses me and the things I’ve gone through to encourage others in similar situations. God has taken this terrible time in my life, turned it around for good, and used it to help others. Only God can do something so powerful!

The problem is that Bible curriculums and/or teachings can only give people head knowledge unless the Holy Spirit is present, revealing the meaning of it and penetrating people’s hearts, and using it for His purpose. We cannot do this. Consequently many people live their whole lives with only head knowledge about God, yet they think they are saved.

People can go to church their whole lives and not be born again. The worst part of this is when they are deceived into thinking they are saved when the truth is they have never truly been born again. In John 3:6-7 Jesus says, “That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.” In new birth God’s Holy Spirit brings true heart knowledge of the need for Jesus into a person’s life.

Head knowledge and heart knowledge should flow together in a person’s life as they read, hear and understand God’s word. Scripture tells us, “So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God” Romans 10:17 (KJV)

In conclusion I encourage you to look at where you stand. Have you received Jesus Christ into your heart and life? Have you received head knowledge or heart knowledge about God? Is the Gospel just a bunch of memorized words and phrases, or has the revelation of the Holy Spirit truly touched your heart and changed your life?